Kris Boyd has joked that if Steven Naismith is as good at coaching as he was cleaning boots then he'll be some manager.
The 36-year-old was appointed as interim Hearts boss on Monday following the sacking of Robbie Neilson.
The former Kilmarnock, Rangers, and Hearts forward has stepped up from the Jambos' B team to take charge until the end of the season.
Boyd shared a dressing room with Naisy at Killie and then Rangers, as well as the Scotland national team.
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The pair enjoyed a good relationship with each other, coming through the ranks at Rugby Park a couple of years apart.
Boydie was senior to Naismith as the latter made the breakthrough at Killie under Jim Jeffries.
And he joked that he enjoyed his boot-cleaning skills during their time together in Ayrshire.
He said: "He was very good at cleaning boots when he was younger as mine were always sparkling. But it's a good opportunity."
Elaborating on the situation at Hearts, Naismith is expected to guide Hearts to a third-placed finish between now and the summer.
He will have to pick up the Jambos first team players quickly, with an Edinburgh derby on the horizon this weekend.
Boyd told Sky Sports: "I just think with what Robbie has given to that football club over the years, he deserved a bit more time.
"There's no doubt that losing five games in a row isn't good enough but I think he would have backed himself to turn it around. I get the feeling something isn't right at Hearts at this moment.
"You see Robbie and Lee McCulloch leaving, Robert Snodgrass has reportedly been told not to come back to training. It's not what you need at this time in the season."
Meanwhile, Kris Boyd has predicted that referees in Scotland could strike following the abuse of Kevin Clancy following the weekend's Celtic vs Rangers fixture.
Police Scotland have opened an investigation into alleged death threats of the whistler following the derby fixture in Glasgow.
Rangers boss Michael Beale claimed Clancy got two major decisions wrong, with the Ibrox club subsequently writing to the Scottish Football Association seeking an explanation for one of them – an early goal from Alfredo Morelos, which was disallowed.
